“You’ve talked quite a bit about your little brother, but I really haven’t heard you mention this part before.”
“You know I’m Roger’s son, but I never had any memories of my parents. Everything I know about them came from what other people told me.”
“Roger’s sword was called Ace.”
“Is that so? But that doesn’t really matter anymore.”
Looking at the flame burning on his fingertip, Ace’s thoughts drifted back to the past.
“I grew up in a mountain bandits’ territory. Even though they were bandits, they were good people. I should’ve called Garp my grandpa too. Even if I didn’t spend as much time with him as I did with Dadan and the others, he still made time to come back once every year.
“But back then, Luffy and I never really wanted to see him. Every time we met, he’d chase after us, saying we absolutely had to become Marines. The next time I saw him after going out to sea… it was in Impel Down.”
Marco didn’t interrupt, simply waiting quietly for Ace to finish.
“So?”
“If Grandpa really did lose in a place like that… I feel like I should go save him, but…”
The flames in his hand went out, and Ace slowly sat back down.
“I thought about the Pops’ final words for a long time. Without the strength of an Emperor of the Sea, some words are just empty talk. Responsibility isn’t something that easy to carry. The old me… was too impulsive.
“If I hadn’t been so impulsive, then maybe now…”
“It’s a good thing that you understand that now. Pops… he never wanted to die of illness in bed like some old geezer. Being able to make a grand exit at the height of his power, shouting those words to the whole world—that fulfilled his goal too.
“So you don’t need to keep blaming yourself. What a shame though. If Pops could’ve seen your growth earlier, he probably would’ve been even more gratified.”
It was only after Whitebeard’s death that Ace truly matured. He had gone through too much over these past two years, and he had also learned the consequences of acting on impulse.
Now that the three great pirate crews had formed an alliance, the already limited space left for the remnants of the Whitebeard Pirates would likely be compressed even further. At a time like this, he absolutely couldn’t make reckless decisions.
Garp was his grandfather, but he had nothing to do with the Whitebeard Pirates. Ace himself, however, was deeply tied to the Whitebeard Pirates, so he couldn’t selfishly drag them into the abyss.
Even if Whitebeard were still alive, he wouldn’t wage war against those three at the same time.
Their alliance had only just been established. They were probably waiting for a chance to establish their authority.
“Your grandpa’s exact location still isn’t certain, right? Even the Marines haven’t released any definite information. They definitely have your grandpa’s Vivre Card, so it looks like they’re worried about something.
“You’re right, acting rashly is a bad idea. But simply investigating the situation and checking the surrounding area should still be fine. The Marines can’t possibly do nothing about this. We just need to seize the right opportunity.
“Izou also really wants to investigate the cause of Oden-san’s death. He doesn’t believe the Beasts Pirates’ explanation at all. Maybe the two of you could go together.”
“Yeah… that makes sense.”
The matured Ace didn’t make any extremely impulsive decisions. Instead, he calmed down and decided to observe the situation for a while first.
Just as Marco said, the ones who should be more anxious about this were the World Government and the Marines.
As for the other forces that had direct or indirect familial ties to Garp, the focus of their attention on this matter was completely different.
Deep beneath the sea, Fishman Island.
Not long after visiting the Divine Blessing Ritual, Neptune and the others had already returned to Ryugu Palace. Having established trade agreements with several nations within the Beasts Pirates’ territory, witnessed supreme power, and seen the ideal nation of her dreams, Otohime was now filled with motivation.
Not only had she toured Wano Country, she had even sat in on classes at the monastery. Though she hadn’t become a fanatic believer, she had found a new goal for the future.
Before they even had time to process all of that information, news of the great alliance arrived at Fishman Island.
“With their alliance… the seas of the New World are practically about to become unified.”
“Isn’t that a good thing? If the Emperors of the Sea choose to join forces, then the wars across the New World should decrease significantly, right?
“Nowadays, almost no ships can enter Fishman Island. If that happens, the space we can operate in will become much larger.
“And New Fishman Island has already stabilized as well. We should start arranging for residents willing to move there to head over. The future of that new homeland is very promising.”
“Stable? Not necessarily. The core territories under their control may become more stable, but the outer regions might face even more pirate attacks. And with the matter involving Garp, the Marines won’t be able to feign ignorance forever. I’m afraid a great war is coming.”
Neptune wasn’t as optimistic as Otohime. Instead, he was worried about what might happen.
“Right, about Hack and the others’ proposal, should we agree to it?”
“As long as it’s within our abilities, we should help them as much as possible. There’s no possibility of reconciliation between us and the World Government anymore. Unless the current World Government is overthrown, we’ll never have a new life. The Revolutionary Army is also a source of strength.”
Fishman Island felt both hope and concern for the future. While seeing hope ahead, they still had to worry about the cruelty of reality.
Meanwhile, inside Wano Country, as the current headquarters of the Beasts Pirates, the atmosphere was completely different.
“Extra! Extra! The Red Hair Pirates and the Big Mom Pirates have formed an alliance with Lord Wise King! The invader Garp has been captured!”
The newspapers in Wano Country were the Beasts Pirates’ own revised versions, written in a way more favorable to themselves. The place also wasn’t affected by the Marines’ smoke screens, so the citizens here instead saw a more authentic version of events.
“Was the invader someone really famous? It’s been a long time since we saw news like this.”
“I heard he was a very famous Marine, called a hero. Lord Kuzan and Lord Queen were the ones who captured him. Lord Wise King didn’t even make a move.”
“Ah, then isn’t he pretty weak?”
Several people reading the newspaper on the street discussed the matter, but then a completely different opinion was voiced.
“Weak? But the paper says he was a very strong Marine.”
“What I mean is, Lord Queen personally made a move. I heard Lord Queen is extremely cautious and never takes risks. If he willingly stepped in himself, doesn’t that just prove the enemy was weak?”
“When you put it that way… it actually makes sense.”
At some point, Queen’s cautious style had spread throughout Wano Country. If even the person most afraid of trouble charged to the front line, then the opponent was obviously weak enough that people could fight over the credit.
Ordinary people didn’t know how much pressure was behind Queen’s “bravery.” Passively avoiding battle would make Kaido dissatisfied, while Hawkins’ mystic divination made Queen worry about angering Arceus.
Within this pirate crew, if both of those people became unhappy at the same time, even Yamato would lose a layer of skin.
Unfortunately, outsiders didn’t know any of that.
So as news of Garp spread alongside the newspapers, the story inside Wano Country evolved into a completely different version. From an old soldier dragged down by rookies, he became an ignorant fool who didn’t know the immensity of heaven and earth.
“These people really know how to seize opportunities, huh? They actually knew to ally with Lord Wise King. As expected, Lord Wise King really is the strongest.”
“Actually, I think Ame-no-Minakanushi is stronger.”
“But that’s a god! Isn’t that only natural? Thinking back to how those so-called kings acted like country bumpkins before is honestly hilarious.”
The younger people joked and laughed about it, while the older generation remained silent. Those people understood clearly that back then, Wano Country had been the true group of ignorant country bumpkins.
Aside from the alliance and Garp, the person who attracted the most attention was Kuzan. As the main combat force in this operation, the newspapers in Wano Country heavily praised Kuzan’s actions.
“Grandma, today’s newspaper.”
Inside a small house in Hakumai, Hanako brought a newspaper to her grandmother.
“Isn’t this that young man from before? He’s accomplished something great too.
“He’s about to receive a reward from Ame-no-Minakanushi. That’s an extremely rare honor…”
The old woman wiped her reading glasses and carefully confirmed the information word by word. Another trace of a smile seemed to appear on her wrinkled face.
The streets of Wano Country were likewise filled with discussions about this matter.
Marine Headquarters, meanwhile, was wrapped in a heavy atmosphere.
“We can confirm that Basque and his squad are dead. And now the pirates have formed this unprecedented alliance. A pirate force comparable to… no, even stronger than the Rocks Pirates has appeared.”
Inside the office, Akainu, Tsuru, and the others sat around the table. This was a high-level meeting that even ordinary Vice Admirals weren’t qualified to attend. Everyone present was among the Marines’ highest leadership.
“What do we do about Garp? Morgans’ updated news have already caused some impact on us. Although our previous preparations prevented morale from collapsing too badly, how we handle this matter is still a problem.”
“Our military strength isn’t enough to rescue Garp. To do something like that, we’d need to gather elite forces from all over the world. Even the commanders from every branch would need to be assembled.
“If we do that, the Revolutionary Army and the other pirates will probably destroy the Marines’ countless years of accumulated foundation.”
Both Sengoku and Tsuru felt irritated. By now, they had already cast aside personal emotions and were analyzing the matter purely from the standpoint of the Marines.
“We definitely have to save him. If the soldiers learn that we abandoned even the great hero Garp, how will they trust us in the future?
“But we can’t rescue him immediately. Our capabilities are insufficient. Plan a rescue operation, but don’t specify an exact time.”
One lie often required countless more lies to patch it up. Akainu could only paint the Marines a hopeful picture for now, claiming they would attempt to rescue Garp at the proper time. As for when exactly they would rescue him, that was another matter entirely.
“This is all we can do for now. At least it’ll stabilize the soldiers’ emotions. What about the new wanted posters?”
“They’re ready as well. Once the World Government approves them, the latest information can be released.”
The targets of these bounties were anything but ordinary. This was no longer something the Marines could decide on alone.
“Mm. Even if it doesn’t really mean much, we still have to show our stance.”
Bounty hunters capable of capturing criminals worth several billion berries were practically unheard of. At this level, increasing the bounty was, in a sense, merely a way of telling others: we’re seriously doing our jobs.
Meanwhile, near the Red Line, the Genesis appeared in the area.
The Red Line was enormous, a massive continent encircling the entire planet. Even the World Government couldn’t station troops across all of it. Although this location was near the Red Line, it lacked the prosperity of Red Port and instead felt desolate.
“Stop.”
Following a single order, the Genesis came to a halt. However, the people aboard still didn’t know why they had come here. Even Shayna was no exception.
They were simply carrying out Arceus’ orders. Seeing that the ship had anchored but no further action followed, Shayna arrived before Arceus and respectfully asked:
“Lord Sacred Beast, is there something important here?”
“No. I merely came to visit an old friend.”
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